Samantha Kadisch has been working for the Long Island Violin shop since 2007. Starting from the age of 15, she was trained to refurbish and repair rental instruments, work with customers on customized repairs, and sell instruments.

Post high school, Samantha attended the University at Albany to pursue her interest in biology and subsequently Anthropology.

After a year and a half at school, her ties to music were calling and she felt a yearning to return to working on instruments. Having played the cello since age ten, she began to develop a passion for creating and playing bowed instruments and decided to pursue the age-old craft of lutherie.

She returned to the LIVS where she had originally started, to work under the guidance and support of Mr. Rufino and her colleagues. While continuing to do repairs and restorations she began honing her skills working on Orofino violins, which are instruments that are completely rebuilt, finished with our own secret varnish, and set up at the shop. Samantha has also been working on making her own cello for the past year.

Samantha’s passion for violin making motivated her to teach and mentor students as well. She has traveled along the east coast to public schools and universities, on behalf of the LIVS, to present an instrument maintenance and care workshop - a hands on experience where students learn about violin care and how to detect minor repairs such as open seams, loose fingerboards, and the ideal time to rehair a bow.

Throughout her career at the LIVS , Samantha has attended workshops and seminars at The University of New Hampshire Violin Craftsmanship Institute for Intermediate and Advanced instrument repairs, Oberlin College for Bow Restoration and Rodney Mohr’s Bow Making course in Ashland, Ohio. Charles Rufino was part of a team that founded the Oberlin Workshops in 1986.

Samantha’s hard work at the shop and with students has motivated her to pursue her goal of one day opening her own violin shop. It would seem only natural that the next step for Samantha was to apply to violin making school. In October she was accepted into the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City, Utah and sometime in the next couple of months Samantha will be making the move to Salt Lake City.

Not only has Samantha been a valued shop employee but a friend of all of ours at the LIVS. We will miss Samantha greatly but we wish her luck on the next chapter of her life